Survived the Mona!

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We now both understand why the Mona Passage has the reputation that it does! Even though we made our passage in relatively mild conditions, it was a challenging exercise. We left Puerto Bahia at about 8:30 am and had a pleasant day as we worked our way toward the actual passage. Of course, by the time we actually moved into the passage, it was dark. And things always seem scarier in the dark. Thank goodness, we had a nearly full moon which helped see the sea conditions. Before I go to far, let me make it clear that we were never in any physical danger. The boat performed exceedingly well. It was just a question of being a bit uncomfortable with big rolling seas which seemed to change direction every half hour. But, we knew both the sunrise and Puerto Rico were on the other side. And sure enough, about 6:00am dawn broke, we could see the coast and the conditions improved dramatically. By 8:00 am we were cruising down the coast toward Boqueron in perfectly calm water with barely a ripple!

It is one of those experiences which makes you wonder if you were dreaming. As we were nearing the anchorage. We suddenly found ourselves accompanied by a big, powerful U.S. Customs and Immigration boat. This thing had four 250hp outboards and could probably chase down anything on the water. They pulled up closer and asked where we were coming from. We said the DR and they said they would just follow us into the anchorage. There is a big drug and illegal alien traffic from the DR to PR and I'm sure they were just being careful. As soon as we were safely anchored, they tied up alongside and asked for permission to board. There were three of them, fully armed with flak jackets, etc. But, they were extremely courteous, and stayed to chat a bit after they finished the paperwork and did a cursory inspection.

I don't think they were gone ten minutes, when Terry and I crashed! A good nap, a good dinner and then to bed again.

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